What is the Ruach HaKodesh? Or should we ask who is Ruach HaKodesh? What is its role and how can we recognize it? Is there any information hidden in the Hebrew pictographs for these words that remains to be discovered? Does the Ruach HaKodesh have anything to do with Messiah? Let’s find out.
Psalm 51 refers us to a very sad account in our ancient text. David, the King of Israel, wrote Psalm 51 in anguish as a result of his trespasses against God. Verse 1 reminds us of some of what King David had done:
To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Bathsheba was the wife of another man named Uriah, who was one of David’s fierce and loyal warriors. Not only did David abuse his position as king to commit adultery with her, he then arranged the death of Uriah to cover his wrongdoing when it became apparent Bathsheba had become pregnant by him. David was finally forced to admit his guilt when confronted by the prophet Nathan. With that on his heart, he composed Psalm 51 including this in verses 11 and 12:
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
The word spirit here is Ruach and the word holy is Kodesh. This is most often simply stated as Ruach HaKodesh or the Holy Spirit. Why was King David afraid of losing Ruach HaKodesh? What was so important and so valuable about the relationship between them? Who is Ruach HaKodesh? For these answers let’s turn to the ancient pictographs contained in these two words.
Let’s begin with Ruach which is most often translated spirit, wind, or breath. Ruach is spelled Reysh Vav Chet.
Reysh is the picture of the head and means the master, the leader, or the prince.
Vav is the picture of the iron nail or the wooden hook and means to fasten or
to secure two things that are separated from one another.
Chet is the picture of the fence and means to separate, to protect, or to
cut off, and can be a sanctuary.
Ancient Hebrew
Modern Hebrew
The first thing we can discover in these pictographs is that in Ruach there is a leader who will connect us to a fence or boundaries that are intended to protect and provide sanctuary. Who will these boundaries be protecting and how will anyone know what these boundaries are? Before answering that, let’s investigate HaKodesh.
HaKodesh is actually two words, Ha which is the, and Kodesh which is translated apartness, holiness, sacredness, or separateness. HaKodesh is spelled Hey Qoof Dalet Sheen.
Hey is the picture of the man with uplifted arms and means to behold, to pay attention to what follows, to reveal, or the Holy Spirit as the revelator.
Qoof is the picture of the back of the head and means the least, the last, or behind.
Dalet is the picture of the door and means a doorway, a place of decision, a place where change can take place, or an entrance to life or death.
Sheen is the picture of teeth and means to press, to consume, or to destroy, and is the one letter God uses to identify Himself.
Ancient Hebrew
Modern Hebrew
We are told in the pictographs to behold something or to pay attention to what follows. What follows is Kodesh. Someone unworthy, the least, is being brought through a doorway to a place where God will identify Himself. Going through this doorway will set this unworthy person apart from those not entering this special place before God. He is going to be granted access that he is obviously not able to provide on his own merit. This leader can do this because He Himself is Kodesh.
When we put the pictographic messages in the two words together, we arrive at this conclusion: the title Ruach HaKodesh is given to the leader who intends to join us to clear boundaries which will allow the least of us to be set apart and invited to pass through a doorway into a place where God will identify Himself to us.
Who is the leader from the pictographs and how does this leader work to show us those boundaries?
This leader first appears in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 2 where it is written:
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
This leader, here called the Spirit of God, is literally the wind of God or the breath of God and was instrumental in the creation account. In the ancient world soul and spirit are both frequently denoted by wind or breath and we can see that this Spirit was indeed God.
Besides being co-creator, what else does this remarkable unnamed leader do? In the Gospel of John Chapter 14 verse 26 another role of this leader is explained:
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Here Ruach HaKodesh is called the Comforter, which is the word used for the advocate who goes before the judge on behalf of someone to plead his case. We are told in this verse that this leader, who comes from the Father at the request of Jesus, will teach us all things. This will certainly include the boundaries established by the Father that is intended for our protection, just as we saw in the pictographs.
In the letter of Rabbi Paul to the Romans Chapter 8 verse 1, we see Ruach HaKodesh is the advocate of all those who follow Messiah:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Now we can see why King David wanted so much to preserve his relationship with Ruach HaKodesh. Not only will there be no blame, but Rabbi Paul adds this in verse 11:
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
This leader, Ruach HaKodesh, has wanted all along to demonstrate His power in your life, not only to guide and teach you how to walk after Christ Jesus but to also one day by His power raise you from the dead to dwell for eternity with the Heavenly Father.
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Wonderful words
Love this meaning.
What a blessing this Word study has been to me! I am overwhelmed by a sense of Holy Spirit’s presence, and His deep love for me. I am going through a struggle with anxiety lately, and today’s article is the best medicine I have found. Thank You, God bless you. Shalom. – Judith
Thanks for sharing the word study, I was truly blessed.
Shalom!
I pray the world will open its eyes and ears to Christ Jesus real soon. I always say the day we quit learning is the day we die. God bless all of you for continuing to pass His teachings onto others. 🙂
Praise God and His Holy Spirit!
Your article has truly opened my eyes. Knowledge is so important in the study of God. Thank you for sharing your hard work and understanding. Shalom.
This is deep praise the lord